Effect of Gd, La, Lu Co-Doping on the Morphology and Luminescent Properties of NaYF:Sm Phosphors.

The series of luminescent NaYF:Sm nano- and microcrystalline materials co-doped by La, Gd, and Lu ions were synthesized by hydrothermal method using rare earth chlorides as the precursors and citric acid as a stabilizing agent. The phase composition of synthesized compounds was studied by PXRD. All synthesized materials except ones with high La content (where LaF is formed) have a β-NaYF crystalline phase.

Lanthanide-Ion-Doping Effect on the Morphology and the Structure of NaYF:Ln Nanoparticles.

Two series of β-NaYF:Ln nanoparticles (Ln = La-Nd, Sm-Lu) containing 20 at. % and 40 at. % of Ln with well-defined morphology and size were synthesized via a facile citric-acid-assisted hydrothermal method using rare-earth chlorides as the precursors.

Regulation of glycolysis by casein kinase I (Rag8p) in Kluyveromyces lactis involves a DNA-binding protein, Sck1p, a homologue of Sgc1p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The casein kinase I (Rag8p) of Kluyveromyces lactis has previously been shown to regulate the transcription of the low-affinity glucose transporter gene RAG1. To study this regulation, we have isolated multicopy suppressors of the rag8 mutation. One of them, SCK1 (suppressor of casein kinase), was characterised.

RAG4 gene encodes a glucose sensor in Kluyveromyces lactis.

The rag4 mutant of Kluyveromyces lactis was previously isolated as a fermentation-deficient mutant, in which transcription of the major glucose transporter gene RAG1 was affected. The wild-type RAG4 was cloned by complementation of the rag4 mutation and found to encode a protein homologous to Snf3 and Rgt2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These two proteins are thought to be sensors of low and high concentrations of glucose, respectively.

Properties of uracil transport by vegetative mycelium of Trichoderma viride.

The transport of radioactively labelled uracil into submerged mycelium of T. viride was measured by means of a membrane filtration technique. It was found to be time-dependent (up to 90 min) and concentration-dependent (up to 8 mmol l-1).

Thyroid hormone activates transcription from the promoter regions of some human nuclear-encoded genes of the oxidative phosphorylation system.

Thyroid hormone (T3) modulates the mRNA levels for cytochrome c and the adenine nucleotide translocator-2 (ANT2) in adult rat liver. Here we show that T3 activates expression of a reporter gene driven from the human cytochrome c1 and ANT2 promoters transfected into human choriocarcinoma JEG3 cells. By contrast, the human F1-ATPase beta-subunit promoter responded marginally, thus providing a pattern of differential expression similar to that earlier observed in rats in vivo.

Developmental changes in the(45)Ca (2+) uptake byTrichoderma viride mycelium.

The rate of the(45)Ca(2+) uptake by the submergedTrichoderma viride mycelium increased with the age of the culture from 6 h until a maximum which was reached at about 30 h, and then decreased until the uptake was virtually zero. The decrease in the rate of the(45)Ca(2+) uptake was accompanied by an increase of mycelial mass. The uptake rate could not be reactivated upon substituting the medium for a fresh one, without or with dilution of the mycelium.

Accumulation of Golgi-specific mannosyltransferases in Candida albicans cells grown in the presence of brefeldin A.

The fungal metabolite brefeldin A (BFA) is known for its ability to block the secretory process in eukaryotic cells by interfering in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to Golgi membrane traffic, causing the disassembly of Golgi apparatus and redistribution of Golgi enzymes into the ER. In sensitive yeasts, underglycosylated forms of secretory proteins accumulate in the cytoplasm in the presence of BFA. We investigated whether the incomplete glycosylation of mannoproteins could be due to repression of the synthesis of Golgi-located terminal mannosyltransferases and whether the underglycosylated mannoproteins can be incorporated into the cell walls in Candida albicans.

The 45Ca2+ uptake by Trichoderma viride mycelium. Correlation with growth and conidiation.

The properties of Ca2+ uptake by Trichoderma viride were studied using radionuclide 45Ca2+ in conjunction with the study of effects of agents influencing the Ca2+ homeostasis on the 45Ca2+ uptake, vegetative growth and conidiation. Mycelium of T. viride was found to take up 45Ca2+ in time- and temperature-dependent manner.

The role of thyroid hormone and promoter diversity in the regulation of nuclear encoded mitochondrial proteins.

Thyroid hormone regulates the in vivo expression of a selected set of rat nuclear genes encoding mitochondrial inner membrane proteins. Certain mRNAs, such as that for cytochrome c1, are increased as much as 20-50-fold, while others, such as core protein 1 of Complex III and the F1-ATPase beta-subunit do not respond. The promoter region of human cytochrome c1 also supports thyroid hormone induction of a reporter gene in transient transfection experiments.

Expression of the AAC2 gene encoding the major mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is controlled at the transcriptional level by oxygen, heme and HAP2 factor.

Expression of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae AAC2 gene encoding the major mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier was examined. The intracellular level of the carrier protein, as well as the level of the AAC2-gene-specific mRNA, is influenced by the presence or absence of oxygen or of heme, and it is subject to carbon-source control. In addition, the expression of AAC2 gene requires the products of the HAP2 and HAP3 genes, but not that of the HAP1 gene.

[Transverse fracture of the body of C2. Apropos of a case].

Introduction: A new fracture of the body of C2 is described. The mechanism is an axial compression producing a body sagittal fracture spreading to the posterior arch with a separation effect.

Case Report: A 29 years old female fell from the second floor.

Growth and conidiation of Trichoderma viride are affected by non-steroidal antiinflammatory agents.

Nonsteroid antiinflammatory agents (NSAIA's) (inhibitors of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase) of several structural series inhibited growth of Trichoderma viride. The most potent growth inhibitors were indomethacin and its derivative repanidal which inhibited in the range of 0.1 mmol/L.

Structural correlates of antifungal and cytotoxic activity of brefeldin A: the importance of a rigid planar lactone ring.

Molecular modelling of brefeldin A and its derivatives shows that the presence of a rigid and planar lactone ring conformation is necessary for cytotoxic and anti-fungal activity. Cytotoxic compounds had lactone ring torsion angles of -28.77 +/- 6.

Enhancement of the uvrA gene dosage reduces pyrimidine dimer excision in UV-irradiated Escherichia coli.

E. coli possesses an efficient repair mechanism able to remove pyrimidine dimers from UV-irradiated DNA, which is catalyzed by UvrABC endonuclease. In E.

Mutagenicity of substituted anthraquinones in the Ames/Salmonella microsome system.

Unsubstituted anthraquinone, 4 substituted anthraquinones (emodin, danthron, physcion, a new compound M-108-C) and 3 dimers (skyrin, rugulosin, rugulin) were tested using the Ames/Salmonella assay (strains TA98, TA100, TA1537 and TA102). Danthron and emodin were found to be mutagenic for TA1537 with or without metabolic activation, physcion only with metabolic activation. A significant difference was found between the mutagenic activities of emodin (16.

Biological effects of the antibiotic brefeldin A (decumbin, cyanein, ascotoxin, synergisidin): a retrospective.

Brefeldin A has been recently characterized to act as an inhibitor of intracellular protein export with profound effects on the structure and function of the Golgi apparatus in animal cells. Manifold activities of the antibiotic (under different names) published in the 1960's and 1970's are reviewed: effects on fungal growth and morphogenesis, inhibition of mitosis in plant cells, cytotoxicity, cancerostatic, antiviral and antinematodal activity and peculiar effects on DNA, RNA and protein synthesis in microbial and animal cells.

Chromatographic methods as tools in the field of mycotoxins.

Achievements in the applications of chromatographic techniques in mycotoxicology are reviewed. Historically, column chromatography (CC) and paper chromatography (PC) were applied first, followed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). Although PC techniques are no longer used in the analysis of mycotoxins, selected applications of PC are included to underline historical continuity.

Structure-activity relationships among mycotoxins.

Relationships between structural features and biological effects of mycotoxins are reviewed. Structure-activity relationships are characterized at the molecular, subcellular, cellular, or supracellular level. Major chemical and physicochemical factors responsible for bioactivity of mycotoxins are stressed.

Uncoupling effect of fungal hydroxyanthraquinones on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation.

Structure-uncoupling activity relationship of seven anthraquinone derivatives were investigated using rat liver mitochondria. Three compounds bearing the free hydroxyl group at the beta-position of their anthraquinone nucleus (1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxyanthraquinone, 1-acetyl-2,4,5,7-tetrahydroxy-9,10-anthracenedione and skyrin) exhibited uncoupling effect. Rugulosin, rugulin and physcion (all lacking the hydroxyl at the beta-position) were ineffective.

Influence of cytochalasin B on oocyte maturation in Xenopus laevis.

Cytochalasin B (CB) exerts an inhibiting effect on the formation, migration and anchoring in the cortex of the meiotic spindle in maturing Xenopus laevis oocytes. Regional sensitivity to CB (CB-sensitive zones) has been found in the oocytes which varies with reference to the stage of oocyte maturation at which CB is applied. Light and electron microscopy has shown that in these CB-sensitive zones the yolk and pigment granules, unlike the cortical ones, are displaced into the cytoplasm centripetally under the influence of CB.

Thin-layer chromatography of mycotoxins.

TLC has become an extremely powerful, rapid and in most instances inexpensive separation technique in mycotoxicology. This review presents achievements of its applications in this field. General technical aspects of the TLC of mycotoxins that are discussed include extraction and clean-up procedures, adsorbents and solvent systems, detection methods, two-dimensional TLC, high-performance TLC (HPTLC), quantitation and preparative TLC (PLC).